Published 15:32 IST, September 16th 2019
Spain's basketball win makes the Tokyo Olympics field exciting
Tokyo Olympics Basketball now looks exciting after Spain won the FIBA world cup against Argentina. The U.S.A and Australia hope for better results in Tokyo.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics looks exciting after Spain’s terrific win at the World Cup against Argentina and the U.S.A suffered the worst tournament. The Tokyo Olympics is just months away and the FIBA world cup has given fans new teams to watch out for in 2020. France and Australia will also be in contention in the tournament.
Spain delighted after the tournament
Talking about Spain’s performance, the team’s coach Sergio Scariolo, said that, “We were not the tallest or most talented, or in the odds when the tournament started, but we worked hard. They didn’t lose faith in themselves, and basketball rewarded them." The head coach of the U.S.A national team Gregg Popovich said, "It's exactly what I knew it to be because I've been involved with it before and in this day and age basketball in other countries is not a secret, so it’s not like there’s an epiphany or revelation to be made. There are wonderful teams and wonderful coaches all over the world so there’s no surprise in any of that,” Popovich said after his team's disappointing seventh-placed finish.
Australia left disappointed
The Australians, on the other hand, were left disappointed after Spain defeated Australia to reach the finals in a 95-88 match. Australia led Spain for much of their thrilling semi-final, only to lose in double overtime. They similarly ran out of gas in their bronze-medal match against France. However, Australian player Mitch Creek said, “This team is going to be a very powerful team when it comes to the Olympic Games.” He further said, “We haven’t forgotten about the previous Olympics, the fourth-place there, and we’re certainly not going to forget about this World Cup campaign. So there’s a lot we can take out of this and build upon.”
Tokyo Olympics 2020
The men's qualification for the Olympic basketball tournament will take place from 2019 to 2020; all five FIBA (International Basketball Federation) zones are expected to have a representation in the Olympic basketball event. The next best 16 teams in the FIBA Basketball World that did not qualify directly to the Olympics along with 2 select teams from each of the four FIBA regions or 24 teams will participate in four separate wild card tournaments which will determine the final four teams which will play in the Olympics.
Updated 17:23 IST, September 16th 2019